Caged In

Chapter 6

The next day was fairly quiet in the basement of the mysterious man. Everyone knew that today was Slate’s last day in their room. Skye had finished her book, so while the man was giving everyone their breakfast, he also gave them some gifts.

When he walked over to Alyce, he slipped in a pencil and a notepad. She thought that maybe she could draw or write. It would keep her somewhat entertained. He handed Blake a pencil and a notepad as well.

He walked over to Skye and Slate. After he gave them each their breakfast, he handed Skye another book. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed it from his hands. The man looked at Slate and pulled a harmonica out of his pocket. Slate took it, looking confused. “Enjoy,” the man said, then left.

Slate looked really disappointed. “I used to play the harmonica. When I was 5!” Slate exclaimed.

“Ehhh, you’ll like it eventually,” said Skye who was already reading her book.

Slate looked at her. “How do you do that?” he asked.

Skye looked up at Slate. “Do what?”

“Read and talk at the same time!”

“I don’t know. I’m constantly reading, so when people talk to me, I’ve just learned to answer. It comes naturally.” She looked back down at her book and started reading again.

“I just don’t get what’s so great about reading,” Slate sighed.

“It makes you smarter. That’s how I could tell you weren’t a reader,” Skye said with a smirk.

Slate sat there for a minute, trying to think what that meant. Once he got it, he said, “Hey! Rude much,” and looked away.

“Oh, don’t be such a drama queen,” said Skye.

Alyce whispered to Blake, “This is so much better than TV,” and smiled.

Blake had grown used to living here, and was actually talking again. He laughed and said, “Yeah. This should be on TV. The Skye and Slate Show. Or the Skye and Ariel show,” he said and laughed again.

“Hey! I might not be as smart as all of you in here, but I can hear you!” Slate yelled, looking at Blake.

All of the sudden, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat. The door opened quickly, and the man stared at each one of them. “Be quiet! I don’t want to hear your pathetic yells!” And with that, he slammed the door.

 “And we thought Slate was a drama queen,” Alyce whispered.

“Hey!” Slate exclaimed.

The next day, Slate was moved to the other room. Everyone was sad, because Slate was pretty much the entertainer of the room. While they were sad, they were also wondering what was so different about the other room. Why was it so necessary to switch rooms? Skye was switching in two days, and Alyce was switching in four days.

Skye looked up from her book and sighed. “I miss Slate.”

“I think we all do,” Alyce said.

“I just wish we would all get moved already,” Skye responded.

“I know. How much different could it be?” Blake said.